Comment: Proposed SSAE on scope limitations

In our letter responding to the AICPA’s Auditing Standard Board’s proposed Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements regarding scope limitations in a review engagement, we support the Board’s project to revise AT-C section 210, Review Engagements, to proactively address potential practice issues.

We agree with the Board that the evolving nature of both sustainability reporting and the current regulatory environment could trigger circumstances in which practitioners may be unable to obtain sufficient appropriate review evidence on which to base their conclusions in sustainability reports, potentially resulting in a scope limitation. In our view, the narrow scope revisions to AT-C section 210 would address these potential issues.

However, we offer the Board a variety of suggested revisions to consider, which are designed to delineate the practitioner’s responsibilities when scope limitations arise, eliminate redundancy, clarify the proposed guidance to avoid potential confusion, and align the proposal with existing standards, among other things.

Download our letter to read our comments in full.